JPMorgan is sticking with its long-run bitcoin upside framework, including a 
$266,000 per-coin target, even as the bank flags near-term stress signals 
around mining economics and still-chilly risk sentiment heading into 2026. The 
bank’s latest read hinges on two pillars: a “soft” floor around bitcoin’s 
production cost, and a valuation model that maps bitcoin’s potential market 
cap against private-sector gold investment on a volatility-adjusted basis. In 
the near term, JPMorgan frames the current drawdown as a familiar stress test 
for miners. The bank estimates the cost to produce a bitcoin at roughly 
$77,000, while bitcoin was trading around the mid-$60,000s in the same 
analysis window, putting spot below breakeven for less efficient operators. JP 
Morgan Remains Bullish On Bitcoin Historically, JPMorgan argues, production 
cost tends to behave like “soft” support rather than a hard line. The 
mechanism is reflexive: if prices stay below profitability for long enough, 
weaker miners shut down, difficulty adjusts lower, and the average cost of 
production falls, effectively tightening the band that previously sat above 
spot. Related Reading: Why The Bitcoin Price Crash Toward $60,000 Was 
“Necessary” The bank also keeps its broader market tone constructive for 2026, 
leaning on the idea that institutional capital (not retail or corporate 
treasuries) is the marginal buyer that can restart flows when the macro 
backdrop stabilizes. As JPMorgan put it: “We are positive on the outlook for 
2026 and expect increased inflows into digital assets, driven by institutional 
investors.” JPMorgan’s $266,000 target is not pitched as a 2026 “call,” but as 
the mathematical end point of a gold-parity thought experiment. In the bank’s 
model, matching the scale of private gold investment (roughly $8 trillion, 
excluding central banks) implies a bitcoin price around $266,000, a level the 
analysts themselves described as “unrealistic” in the near term. Related 
Reading: Is The Bitcoin Bottom In? Leading On-Chain Analyst Sees A Floor 
Forming The bridge between “unrealistic now” and “possible later,” in 
JPMorgan’s framing, is volatility. The bank has pointed to a bitcoin-to-gold 
volatility ratio around 1.5, unusually low by historical standards and argues 
that gold’s surge since October alongside rising gold volatility has improved 
bitcoin’s relative appeal over the long run. “The large outperformance of gold 
vs. bitcoin since last October coupled with the sharp rise in gold volatility 
has led to bitcoin looking even more attractive compared to gold over the long 
term,” the analysts wrote. JPMorgan’s stance effectively splits the tape into 
two timeframes: a messy adjustment process if bitcoin remains below mining 
breakevens, and a longer-duration bet that institutional inflows and 
regulatory progress in the US can reprice the asset’s role versus gold as 2026 
unfolds. At press time, BTC traded at $66,229. Featured image created with 
DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

JPMorgan Keeps Bitcoin Bull Case: $266,000 Remains The Target

Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended their losing streak as bitcoin 
and ether recorded another wave of heavy outflows. XRP also slipped into the 
red, while solana stood out with modest inflows. Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $410 
Million as Crypto Outflows Accelerate Selling pressure intensified across 
crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with investors continuing to pull capital 
from […]

Heavy Selling Hits Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Again With $523 Million Combined Outflows

Coinbase&#8217;s strategic Bitcoin accumulation amid economic uncertainty highlights 
a growing trend of corporate treasuries embracing crypto assets.
The post Coinbase acquires 841 Bitcoin in Q4, lifting holdings to 15,389 BTC 
appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Coinbase acquires 841 Bitcoin in Q4, lifting holdings to 15,389 BTC

As most of the crypto market retests crucial levels, Ethereum (ETH) is 
attempting to reclaim a major horizontal area. Some market observers have 
warned that cryptocurrency could fall to new lows if the price doesn’t bounce 
soon. Related Reading: LayerZero (ZRO) Soars 40% Amid Zero Blockchain Debut, 
Major Institutional Backing Ethereum Weekly Close On Sight On Thursday, 
Ethereum dropped 1.4% to retest a key area for the second consecutive day. 
After hitting a 10-month low of $1,747, the King of Altcoins bounced more than 
15% to trade between $2,000 and $2,150 over the past few days. However, the 
second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap failed to hold the crucial $2,000 
horizontal barrier on Wednesday and tested the $1,900 mark for the first time 
in a week. After attempting to reclaim the key psychological level in the 
early hours of Thursday, Ethereum was rejected toward the recent lows, briefly 
falling below it. Analyst Ted Pillows highlighted the importance of ETH’s 
current zone, as it has previously triggered major moves. To him, if the 
altcoin fails to reclaim the $2,000 area in the coming days, a full retrace 
toward the recent lows should be expected soon. Similarly, market observer 
Crypto Busy noted that the cryptocurrency is currently trading above a major 
long-term support. According to the post, the recent correction has sent 
Ethereum toward a three-year rising support line, which “will decide the next 
big move.” The analyst warned that “If the trendline breaks with strong weekly 
closes below $1,900, the structure weakens.” Therefore, ETH must hold its 
current levels in the coming days to avoid a weekly close below this level. 
Otherwise, its price could drop “into the next liquidity pockets around $1,600 
and possibly $1,300, where the next historical support zones exist.” Is ETH’s 
‘Real’ Bull Market Two Years Away? Trader AlejandroXBT shared a potential 
macro-outlook for Ethereum that suggests the cryptocurrency could still see 
another major shakeout: My thesis is that the major bullish move that began 
around 2019–2020 has transitioned into a large and prolonged macro correction, 
and that Ethereum has been consolidating within this broader corrective 
structure ever since. He outlined four phases for the macro structure: the 
pump, the correction, the shakeout, and the moon. The initial phase, which 
occurred between 2019 and 2021, marked “the true impulsive bullish move,” with 
strong trend expansion and increasing momentum. According to the market 
observer, the strong rally that followed the 2022 bear market appears to be a 
“counter-trend move within a broader corrective range” rather than a renewed 
bull market and the start of a new long-term cycle. As he explained, ETH’s 
range-bound behavior signals distribution and consolidation instead of 
continuation. “From this perspective, the apparent bull market that developed 
within the correction can be interpreted as a dead cat bounce, a technically 
strong bounce occurring inside a larger corrective structure,” he affirmed. 
Related Reading: XRP Positioned For Major Structure Shift As Price Tests 
Critical Level Therefore, the current macro structure would suggest that a 
final shakeout phase could “still be required to fully reset sentiment and 
liquidity before Ethereum can transition into a new impulsive bullish cycle.” 
Based on this, the trader anticipated a final liquidity-driven move to the 
downside in the coming months, followed by “the moon” phase, potentially next 
year, when “the structure suggests the conditions for a true long-term bullish 
continuation, with price discovery and expansion well beyond previous highs.” 
Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum $1,900 Retest Could Decide Next Major Move – Is ETH Preparing For New Lows?

The stock and crypto markets remained on edge today, February 13, as 
participants reacted to the latest US consumer inflation report, which 
continued moving downwards in January. US stock indices retreated, with the 
futures tied to the Dow Jones. Nasdaq…

Cryptocurrency price in KWD